Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, North and West Alaska CESU | G19AS00047

Opportunity Information: Apply for G19AS00047

The Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) released a discretionary funding opportunity under the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) network for the North and West Alaska CESU. The award is structured as a cooperative agreement, meaning the project is expected to involve substantial collaboration between USGS and the selected CESU partner rather than functioning as a hands-off grant. The opportunity was posted on April 15, 2019, with an original closing date of April 29, 2019. USGS anticipated making one award, with an award ceiling of $80,364, under CFDA 15.808, and eligibility was limited to qualified CESU partners (the listing notes "Others" with additional eligibility details referenced in the full announcement).

The core purpose of the project is to use satellite imagery to identify and analyze beaver pond complexes located on National Park Service lands in northern and western Alaska. The work focuses specifically on four park units: Noatak National Preserve, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Kobuk Valley National Park, and Bering Land Bridge National Preserve. The selected partner would produce an inventory and a list of representative beaver ponds across these areas, essentially creating a structured dataset that captures where beaver ponds are, how they are configured, and how they vary across landscapes and hydrologic settings.

A key deliverable is not just a map of pond locations, but a categorized inventory that distinguishes different types of beaver ponds and pond complexes. The announcement highlights example classification attributes such as whether a pond is associated with a stream, an oxbow feature, or a lake outlet, and whether there are trees present or particular shrub taxa in the surrounding vegetation. It also calls for characterizing dam age and incorporating other relevant geographic attributes, which implies a GIS-oriented product that combines imagery interpretation with landscape and habitat descriptors. In practical terms, the project is about turning raw remote-sensing observations into a usable, organized set of categories that resource managers and researchers can rely on for comparison, planning, and targeted fieldwork.

The inventory is intended to support on-the-ground sampling during the summer field season, so the project also includes selecting a subset of beaver pond complexes for more intensive study. For these targeted sites, the partner would develop or provide high-quality spatial data products such as orthoimagery and digital elevation models (DEMs). These products would help quantify pond and dam morphology, surrounding terrain, and hydrologic connectivity, and would also support safe and efficient field planning in remote locations.

Beyond static mapping, the opportunity emphasizes seasonal monitoring of beaver behavior and other time-sensitive events that influence pond formation and persistence. Examples called out in the description include spring snowmelt, flooding, and fall freeze-up, all of which can reshape channels, affect dam stability, and influence how beavers use particular pond complexes over time. Taken together, the project combines remote sensing, GIS classification, and seasonal observation to better understand where beavers are establishing ponds in these Alaska parklands and how those ponds function and change across seasons.

The work is planned as a three-year effort, which suggests an expectation of iterative refinement: initial identification and classification from satellite imagery, selection of representative sites, production of detailed geospatial datasets for field sampling, and ongoing monitoring that captures interannual and seasonal dynamics. The end result is meant to be a practical, research-grade inventory and set of mapped products that can support National Park Service resource management and broader scientific understanding of beaver-driven landscape change in Arctic and subarctic environments.

• The Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, North and West Alaska CESU" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.808.
• This funding opportunity was created on Apr 15, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 29, 2019. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $80,364.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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